Married Man
by caelestis-wolf
Summary: The story of how Saito met his wife and their married life together. Pairing: TokioSaito more might be added, including some AoshiMeg.


Author's Notes: The title and fic is subject to change since it was my impatience to get this up that lead to such a crappy name and well, knowing me, there's always something to fix that could be better on all my fics. The worst part is I have the sneaking suspicion that somewhere in my old drafts on my old computer there is a title for this fic….

_Disclaimer:_ Nothing belongs to me. It's all Watsuki's and other companies that shall remain nameless since I have no clue who they are.

Words in _Italics _are thoughts.

I've decided to get rid of my normal star system since refuses to show them. Instead I'll just put the meaning of any japanese word in (parenthesis) after it.

(#) means there are japanese cultural notes at the bottom.

Japanese words and they're english counterparts:

Geta - wooden shoes/sandals (chancletas)

Nee-chan - Older sister

Otou-san - Father, Dad, Daddy I'm not really sure which one

Gaijin - a derogative term for anyone who's not japanese. Literally means white demon

Nakodo - matchmaker

hai - yes

iie - no

ohayou - good morning

sayonara - good bye

Aishiteru - I love you

Takoyaki - japanese shiskabobs basically

**Title: Married Man**

**Author: caelestis-wolf**

**Chapter: The Trap that is Marriage**

It was a dark cold and rainy day at the Rakuta Inn. Tokio had been up on her feet working the whole day ever since she got up and hadn't taken any time to rest for there really was no time. The day had been so busy she wasn't able to get away until late in the afternoon. She walked out with an old umbrella full of depictions of samurais and geishas she'd found broken and unusable in a dump in an alley. She'd fixed it with the papers that currently adorned it that she'd found on the ground and used as patches and some strong sticks she'd found by the river. She was on her way home when she'd heard screams of physical pain coming from an alley.

_'What was that? It sounded like more than one person. Should I call the police?'_ Tokio thought as she stared from a distance at the alley where the screaming was coming from when she heard yet another scream of pain.

_'That's it. I have to get out of here.'_ she thought as she started running away as fast as she could in a kimono and geta (wooden shoes/sandals [chancletas]). As soon as she got home she called for her little brother.

"Morinosuke! Where are you? I need you to-"

"What up Nee-chan(Older sister)?"

"I need you to...." she started but stopped when she saw the smug look on his face.

"What are you so happy about?"

"Oh, nothing." he said looking the other way, his fingers intertwined together at the back of his neck leaving his elbows to point to the sky.

"Morinosuke is there something you want to tell me?" Tokio asked patiently, a notable bit of suspicion in her voice.

"Nothing really......" he started, looking uninterested then looked Tokio in the eyes with an evil smile, "but Otou-san told me to tell you to get in a wedding kimono. He said he's finally found a man that's right for you that's actually willing to take you."

Tokio was more annoyed than shocked. That was the third time this month he'd tried getting her married. He'd even gone so far as to pay a nakodo (matchmaker) to pair her up. She'd of course ruined everything by making small comments, little indiscretions and so on. Always something small that would make the other party change they're mind and reject her. She'd been very discreet about it but her father wasn't fooled. He knew her all too well and after two or three rejections realized she'd been sabotaging everything whenever she met up with the other party.

"What is it with him and getting me married?" Tokio thought out loud, annoyance clear in her voice.

"I believe his exact words were, 'You look old. You should get married.'" Morinosuke added enthusiastically.

"Humph! Well if that's the way it is, I have a little surprise for you too Otou-san." she said in all serenity.

_**At some bar.....**_

Takagi Kojuro(1) was pacing back and forth. He'd sent his son Morinosuke to fetch his daughter Tokio a while ago.

_'What am I going to do? Tonight's my last chance to marry her off but I can't find anyone to marry her to. Let's see, there's gotta be some good looking drunk here somewhere.'_ thought Takagi Kojuro while he roamed the bar(2) in search of a good looking drunk.

"Otou-san, we're here." said Morinosuke poking his dad on the back. At this Kojuro turned around suddenly saying, "Oh so you are here." and started laughing nervously until he saw what his daughter was wearing.

"Why are you wearing that foreign nightgown instead of the wedding kimono?"

"I told you that if I am to get married I will do it as western as possible. Father Erics-san said women wear white dresses to their weddings, not kimonos."

"That's over there, not here!" Kojuro said mad.

"It's either like this or I'm not getting married at all." _'Haha, take that Otou-san.'_

Kojuro was fuming. He was very pro japan and hated all things that had to do with gaijins(white demon. Derogative term for anyone who's not japanese). His daughter, unlike him, had a fascination for everything gaijin ever since that gaijin Father Erics had moved in next door to them.

"Fine, you're getting married anyways though." he huffed.

"Fine, I don't care much anyways." she said calmly with an air of indifference then realized a very important detail was missing. "Otou-san, where is my husband to be?" she was sure she'd got him this time and that there really was no one for her to marry and that he was improvising. She could already hear a little victory song in her head.

"He went out to take a piss." Kojuro said nonchalantly. Tokio tripped and almost fell but caught her balance.

"Go stand by the Shinto priest will ya." he ordered Tokio then turned to Morinosuke and whispered, "Quick go get the sake before your Onee-san makes a run for it. And watch her; make sure she doesn't get away."

"Ay ay, Captain." Morinosuke said stamping his foot once while simultaneously straitening exageratedly, slauting his father navy style, then ran off to go buy a jug of sake.

'Now to find Tokio a husband.' he thought to himself and checked every drunk that was unconscious as Tokio watched him from afar standing by the Priest. He finally settled on one and dragged him over.

"Here is your husband to be," He said throwing the unconscious drunk at her feet. "he's a real looker, ain't he? Now aren't you glad your old man finally came through and found you a man?"

Tokio stared at the drunk horrified at the idea of marrying such a man. She looked up at her father in disgust. How dare he even consider marrying his only daughter to that pile of filth on the floor?

"I've got the sake!" Morinosuke sang triumphantly as he came back sake held high.

"Good jo-"

::CRASH::

Takagi Kojuro stopped abruptly mid word as Morinosuke dropped the jug of sake because Tokio slapped it out of his hands. He glared at her.

"I refuse to be married by a Shinto priest."

"Why you ungrateful little-!"

"What if Erics-san were the one to marry you?" Morinosuke asked abruptly. At this Tokio brightened because she'd been wishing for a western style wedding and had wanted him to marry her not to mention her father would never consent to it.

_'I've found my way out.'_

"Hai, if it's Erics-san I'll marry anyone." She said rather pleased with herself as she saw the color rising in her fathers face.

"Ok!" Morinosuke said as he ran out and came back within the blink of an eye with Erics-san. "Now you can get married!" he said rather happily. Tokio looked shocked at Erics-san.

"Erics-san, what are you doing in a place like this?!"

At this Erics-san looked at her confused. You see, even though he'd been living in Japan he barely knew any Japanese. All he understood was that Morinosuke had appeared earlier with his ever present happy go lucky smile and dragged him to this place and tied him to the building, left him waiting there for hours with nothing but some takoyaki (shiskabobs) and a stray dog that appeared an hour later and stole the takoyaki. Then he'd come out of nowhere, the same smile plastered on his face, untied him and dragged him into the building and that now Morinosuke's sister, Tokio, seemed to be talking to him and their father looked anything but happy. Now, any other foreigner would have been mad and insulted at being tied to a building for hours on end with nothing but some takoyaki and a stray takoyaki stealing dog to keep him company. But Erics-san was a patient man and before coming to this country had understood things wouldn't be easy and that the natives had strange ways. So he took it all in stride, and smiled kindly at Tokio, completely and totally clueless as to what was happening.

"It's a sign from God Onee-chan! He wants you to marry this bum! Why else would he send his servant Erics-san to a place of sin like this?"

Tokio looked at him like he'd grown two horns.

"What do you think I am, stupid? I know you told father Erics-san to come here!"

"How? I don't know no English and he don't get a word of Japanese! All he knows is hai, iie, ohayou, sayonara, aishiteru and takoyaki! Besides you said you'd marry anyone so long as it was him marrying you!" he said pointing at Father Erics-san.

"I did, but- Otou-san, you're not really going to let me marry through the Catholic Church are you?!"

"Why not? Wasn't it your wish? Remember, I'm just trying to make you, my only daughter, my baby girl, happy." he said smiling evilly. Tokio took a step back in fear. She looked around her desperate to find a way out then ran to Father Erics-san.

"Father Erics-san please, don't let them do this to me!" she begged him grabbing onto his hands. He stared at her, shocked at her distress, wondering what on earth could be bothering this poor girl who would come visit him regularly usually with food and help him out with whatever he needed.

"Young lady, I have no idea what you are saying, but I'll help you however I can." He said worriedly in english (in other words, no one got it).

Morinosuke walked up to him and took a bible out from inside of his shirt and opened it on a page that was marked and pointed at a passage that was underlined. Father Erics-san read the passage.

1 Kings 11:19

Pharaoh was so pleased with Hadad that he gave him a sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpenes, in marriage.

After reading it he looked up at the boy and said, "Is this what your sister is asking of me? She wants me to marry her? But to who?"

Morinosuke didn't understand anything but recognized the word marriage as it had been part of his research in preparation for marrying his sister off. So he said, "Hai," and walked over to the passed out drunk on the floor, bent down and pointed at him smiling. At this Father Erics-san looked scandalized that such a good, sweet and pretty girl like Tokio, should want to marry such a dirty, smelly, passed out animal-like being on the floor. The Father gave Morinosuke a questioning look. Morinosuke stood up, walked over to the Father and pointed at the passage then at the smelly person lying on the floor. He did this about three times till Father Erics-san gave him a smile in understanding.

"So this man has pleased your father and you're giving him your sister in thanks. I understand. Your sister is a very tempered woman, to want to marry such a man so badly just for... He must have done something that really pleased your family despite his less than honorable looks, not to mention total lack of hygiene. But if this is what your family wants, so be it. Who am I to judge after all?" he finished looking up and raising both hands to shoulder level, palms pointed at the ceiling.

"Morinosuke what did Father Erics-san just say?" Tokio asked.

"Beats me. I told you, I don't know any English."

Father Erics-san walked over to the drunk, picked him up and propped him against a chair and table while holding him steady, motioning for Tokio to come over. As she did he read everything needed to be read and asked, "Do you, Takagi Tokio, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

She stared at him confused as she couldn't comprehend what he was doing.

_'He's asking me a question…'_

"Hai?"

"And do you, Mr. Putrid- I mean, um, Mr.… Whatever your name is, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

::Silence::

Father Erics-san shook the man. The man grunted and he took it for a yes.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

::CLUNK::

Saito fell to the floor. Morinosuke clapped and Kojuro jumped in victory, hugging his son out of pure and uncontaminated joy.

_**To be continued…**_

(1)The thing about names in japanese: In japanese the last name comes first. For Example: 'Takagi Kojuro was pacing back and forth.' Now, if we were to say his name in english it would be Kojuro Takagi since Takagi is his last name and Kojuro is his first name. What about middle names you ask? There are no middle names in japanese, or at least not that I know of. Usually if they have middle names it'll be in some other language that isn't japanese and the character will be either a foreigner (not from japan) or half japanese half something else end even then the middle name are never in japanese (once again, only speaking from experience meaning there's always the possibility I could be wrong).

(2)Bar's in the Meiji Era: Now I know for a fact that there were bars in that time but I couldn't find anything specific concerning them. I have no idea what they looked like or if they had a specific name.


End file.
